It is time once again for Hollywood to mark its biggest night and bring this year’s awards season to a close with the 98th Academy Awards. In what was another wide-ranging and entertaining year for cinema, ten films are battling it out for the biggest prize of the night and to etch their name onto one of those golden trophies and into the history books. We have a moving family drama, a politically charged thriller, a moving and powerful drama based on the life of the greatest writer who ever lived, a wonderful interpretation of a classic novel, and a genre-defying supernatural horror.

Without further ado, here is my ranking of these films from worst to best, starting with…

10. The Secret Agent

Whenever I begin compiling this list, I am always on the lookout for a film that stands out as one that should not be in contention for the top prize. While no film in this year’s crop stands out as truly awful, this slow-burning political thriller from Kleber Mendonça Filho is comfortably the one I enjoyed least. It stands as an interesting companion piece to last year’s Oscar-winning I’m Still Here, focusing on a time when Brazil was being ruled by a military dictatorship, as a former professor (played by Wagner Moura) finds himself with a target on his back.

You might think that with a title like The Secret Agent, the film would channel the spirit of a certain British secret agent, but the film eschews that in favour of patiently exploring the brutality of what can happen when a country is being ruled with an iron fist, and when you get on the wrong side of certain people. Undeniably topical given the world we live in, and while Moura gives an excellent performance, the film takes a long time before the plot really gets into motion, and with a 2-hour and 40-minute run-time, the pacing suffers as a result.

9. Train Dreams

In 2024, Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar co-wrote the brilliant Sing Sing, a powerful and thought-provoking look at life inside prison and the power of the arts that prisoners used to find new purpose. For their follow-up, with Bentley taking Kwedar’s place in the director’s chair, he takes us back to the late 19th/early 20th century for an equally contemplative and moving story of one man’s journey through the world as he tries to make a living as a logger, while taking care of his wife (Felicity Jones) and young child.

Filled with absolutely gorgeous cinematography, the film’s pacing is a little too leisurely, but it’s a showcase for Joel Edgerton, who turns in what might be the performance of his career. He can consider himself mighty unlucky that he wasn’t recognised with a nomination for Best Actor.

 

8. F1

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By far, this is the film in this year’s line-up that will have definitely raised the most eyebrows. The Academy tends to include a film that has seen box-office success here, if for no other reason than to coax general audiences to watch the ceremony. Of all those box office juggernauts, this was the one to stand on the podium and leave the likes of Avatar: Fire and Ash to (deservedly) fall by the wayside.

After wowing critics and audiences alike and going a long way toward preserving the theatrical experience as we know it with Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski shifted gears, swapping jet planes for high-powered F1 cars and trading one A-lister for another. His commitment to practical filmmaking by attaching cameras to these high-powered cars is commendable, and the film is undeniably pulsating and thrilling to watch, even if you’ve never seen an F1 race in your life or have not the slightest interest in the sport. It could do very well in some of the below-the-line craft categories, but it is ultimately a bit too by-the-numbers and formulaic to truly rise above its competitors to be in pole position to win that coveted Best Picture statue.

 

7. Bugonia

If there is one thing you can be guaranteed of before going into any film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, it’s that the film you’re about to watch is unabashedly eccentric and weird. Very few filmmakers in Hollywood are making films like him, and all the better for it. These concepts and ideas could easily turn into catastrophic misfires were they to fall into the wrong hands. Yet, the Greek auteur makes these wacky concepts work and has enjoyed a very fruitful and productive collaborative relationship with Emma Stone, with this marking their fourth project together, as the film delves into the minds of two conspiracy theorists who become convinced that the CEO (another incredible performance by Stone) of a major corporation is secretly an alien and hatch a plan to abduct her.

An English-language remake of 2003’s Save the Green Planet, the film offers a fascinating examination of how one can get lost in the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, while also rebuking the catastrophic impact that capitalist society, humanity, and rampant consumerism have on the environment of the planet we live on, with an absolutely wild ending that will have your jaw on the floor. One only knows what kind of off-the-wall, insane concept Lanthimos will turn his attention to next.

 

6. One Battle After Another

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Of all the films that came out in 2025, perhaps no other film tapped into the zeitgeist and showcased the politically charged world we inhabit more than the latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson, which is likely to be the one that ends his long wait for Oscar glory in several categories, as it is the clear frontrunner for the Best Picture trophy.

A film that truly lives up to its name, it expertly walks the fine line between a politically-charged thriller which excoriates some of those most poisonous ideologies we see in the world today, while also balancing an unexpected amount of humour, in the form of Leo DiCaprio’s stoner/revolutionary, desperately trying to save his daughter (an outstanding Chase Infiniti) from the vile Colonel Lockjaw. PTA films have often been very hit or miss for me, and while this is certainly a step up from Licorice Pizza, to my mind, it’s not quite the masterpiece some people are hailing it as, though given how much it speaks to the time we’re living through, it is easy to see why it is odds on to win the biggest prize of the night.

 

5. Sentimental Value

After scoring two richly deserved Oscar nominations (Original Screenplay and International Feature) for the concluding chapter in his Oslo trilogy, The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier did not rest on his laurels, and his latest film has deservedly received wider recognition than his previous films. While not a direct sequel to Worst Person, Sentimental Value very much continues in the same vein, not least since it reunited him with Renate Reinsve to tell the moving story of an actress and her sister who, amid their father’s efforts to reconcile with them, offer Reinsve’s Nora a chance to star in his big comeback film.

A deeply resonant exploration of those complicated family dynamics and the generational trauma of familal struggle that can have a lasting impact on one’s life well into adulthood, and of the sometimes complicated relationships we have with them. Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgard are both exceptional as the father and daughter grappling with their choices in life, with excellent supporting work from Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, all of whom have received deserved Oscar nominations for their performances.

 

4. Marty Supreme

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When working in collaboration with his brother Benny, Josh Safdie knew a thing or two about putting audiences’ anxiety through the wringer, with their films Good Time and Uncut Gems. After striking out on his own, Josh’s first film as a solo director very much picks up where he left off with this enthralling, fast-paced story of one young man with big dreams and an ambition to be the best American professional table tennis player to have ever lived.

Setting aside some of his recent and extremely distasteful comments about ballet and opera, the fact that the film surpassed Everything Everywhere All at Once to become A24’s highest-grossing film of all time says a lot about Chalamet’s popularity as an actor, though that will have taken a hit since he made those comments. But credit where credit is due, as he once again turns in an extraordinary performance. By all accounts, Marty is a man so narcissistic, rude, and condescending that he gives us Martins a very bad name. He is so unlikeable, it would make you wish someone on screen would hurl several of those table tennis balls at him. Yet, despite these dreadful qualities, you want to root for him as he tries to hustle his way to the very top, and the film leaves you breathless after its 150-minute run time. Whoever knew table tennis could be so exhilarating?

3. Hamnet 

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After winning multiple Oscars in 2021 for Nomadland, you could hardly blame Chloé Zhao for wanting to try her hand in the big and vast sandpit that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the under-appreciated Eternals. Even when in the confines of the MCU, her films have had a distinct feel to them, with the exploration of the humanity of those on the fringes of society. She continues this trajectory in a moving and devastating fashion in this fictionalised story of how the greatest writer to have ever lived used the most unimaginably harrowing circumstances to write his magnum opus.

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley are a powerhouse pair on screen with sublime chemistry. Their love blazes like a wildfire, but is then severely tested when tragedy strikes. The film also serves as a powerful reminder of art’s power and how we, as humans, can use it to overcome our grief when someone we love has departed this world. Mescal was mighty unlucky to not get a nomination, but the film belongs to Buckley, and her (soon-to-be Oscar-winning) performance will snap your heart into a thousand pieces.

 

2. Frankenstein

 

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The mere mention of the name Frankenstein undoubtedly brings to mind the image of an unnatural creation brought to life by a mad scientist who believes he has the power over life and death. It should come as no surprise that, since the 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel had a significant influence on Guillermo del Toro during his childhood in Mexico, the visionary director has been trying to bring his own version of this story to the screen since 2007. Fortunately, after his successful collaboration with Netflix, which earned him another Oscar for his remarkable reimagining of “Pinocchio,” he received backing from the streaming service to realise his vision for Frankenstein, with immaculate results.

Del Toro harbours the utmost respect for the source material, but puts his own stamp on it, proving that there aren’t many directors better equipped to tackle stories about finding humanity in creatures of the monstrous variety. A cast firing on all cylinders, with an Oscar-worthy performance by Jacob Elordi as the misunderstood creature, and filled to the brim with beautiful cinematography, incredible production design and immaculate costumes, this is one of the Mexican auteur’s finest accomplishments. No easy feat when you consider his distinguished filmography.

 

1. Sinners 

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Even with the additional category of Casting being added to this year’s ceremony for the first time, the fact that Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying magnum opus (which released last April let’s not forget) has surpassed the nominations record jointly held by La La Land, Titanic and All About Eve (14 each) to become the most nominated film of all time with 16 nominations speaks volumes to the extraordinary brilliance of Ryan Coogler’s magnum opus and how much it resonated with the Academy members and the wider public alike.

Coogler deserves immense credit not only for the significant deal he struck with Warner Bros. to get the film made, but also for making a wholly unique and original film, unconnected to any existing franchise or IP. It combines supernatural horror with a pointed examination of the racist history of the Deep South and a joyous celebration of blues music that blurs the lines between past, present, and future, all of which just so happen to feature vampires. Irrespective of whether it wins the top prize at the Oscars, wins a bunch of awards, or goes home empty-handed (which it will not), Coogler has created a film that reminds us why we go to the cinema to watch films on the biggest screen we can. I sincerely hope that if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros goes through, they take note of films like this. This art form needs films like this to be made, and visionaries like Coogler to make them.

 

Could/should have been nominated…

And there you have it! That completes my ranking of the ten films competing for this year’s Best Picture awards. Though as always, I like to imagine what could have been to make this year’s crop even more of a stronger line-up of films. So with that in mind, if I had a ballot, I would remove The Secret Agent and Train Dreams and in their place I would nominate:

No Other Choice – For over 20 years, Park Chan-wook has made an indelible contribution to cinema and never is this more apparent than with his latest film, a deliciously black comedy about one man’s increasingly desperate attempts to find work after he is let go by his long-time employer. In this increasingly cutthroat capitalist society we live in, its omission in this year’s awards race across the board is truly head-scratching.

Weapons – Horror usually has a tough time getting a look-in at the Oscars due to the Academy’s genre bias. Yet there are signs this could be changing, with The Substance last year and now Sinners this year. We saw Zach Creggar’s sophomore feature get a deserved nomination for Amy Madigan’s unforgettable performance, but such was the impact this film had, grossing $270m on a $38m budget and becoming a hugely talked about film, I would have liked to have seen it get more love at the Academy in some of the above the line categories like Original Screenplay, and especially in some of the below the line categories, not least Hair and Makeup.